Europe shares rally on reports of Greek debt proposal

PARIS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Tuesday,
boosted by several press reports pointing to a possible debt
agreement between Greece and its international creditors, with
one report citing a six-month debt extension.

Athens's ATG index was up 4.2 percent, with Bank of
Piraeus up 10 percent and Eurobank up 11.5
percent.

A report by MNSI, citing sources, said the European
Commission would table a compromise proposal and that according
to the plan Greece should ask for a six-month period during
which it will discuss and agree with lenders all pending issues
and a post-bail-out plan.

At 1245 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.5
percent at 1,487.91 points.

UBS bucked the trend, falling after it warned
against the effects of the surging Swiss franc and negative
interest rates in Switzerland and the eurozone.

Shares in Switzerland's biggest bank sank 4.1 percent -- the
biggest loss among European blue-chips -- after it said last
month's move by the central bank to abandon a cap on the value
of the franc would hurt profits.

Switzerland's benchmark index SMI has fallen 4.4
percent so far in 2015. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of
top European shares, by contrast, has gained 8.2 percent over
the same period.

French tyre maker Michelin fell 4.6 percent after
posting earnings that missed forecasts, but so
far Europe's earning season has been positive. About a third of
the STOXX 600 index companies have reported results,
and 63 percent have met or beaten analyst forecasts.

"I'm expecting to see forecast upgrades in Europe given the
drop in the euro, the drop in commodity prices and the
quantitative easing programme," said Bernard Aybran, head of
multi-asset management at Invesco, in Paris. "Profits in Europe
are at such a low level that they can only go up from here.

"Dividends in Europe are also a big positive factor. The
average yield in Europe for 2015 is 3.5 percent."

On Tuesday, Raiffeisen Bank International climbed
6.7 percent after the Austrian lender said it would reduce its
exposure to Russia and sell operations in Poland and Slovenia.

The stock had lost as much as 72 percent in the past 12
months, hurt by worries over its exposure to Russia. The Russian
economy has suffered from falling oil prices and from western
sanctions over its support of eastern Ukrainian separatists.

Security camera maker Axis AB surged 48 percent
after Japan's Canon said it plans to buy the Swedish
company for about 23.6 billion Swedish crowns ($2.83 billion) to
expand into surveillance products.